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Our car. As a family we’re not so fanatical about bicycling that we’re willing to give up a car altogether. When we recently bought this new car I think some of my friends were surprised we got a Mini instead of a Prius, the environmentalists’ vehicle of choice. As I’ll describe in an upcoming post, I think it’s much more important to our communities and to the environment that a car be small and slow rather than use less gasoline. Large fast cars contribute to a transportation infrastructure that is inhospitable to the rest of us not driving a car. My friends take some pride in their mpg, but their lower mpg doesn’t make me feel any safer biking. Also mpg-pride seems misplaced if someone is using their large four-seat hybrid car for personal transportation. I’m not against technology, but I believe in appropriate use of technology. I only use our car by myself when I have something heavy to carry or when I have to go beyond the range of my bike. Otherwise I drive my bike.

Our car. As a family we’re not so fanatical about bicycling that we’re willing to give up a car altogether. When we recently bought this new car I think some of my friends were surprised we got a Mini instead of a Prius, the environmentalists’ vehicle of choice. As I’ll describe in an upcoming post, I think it’s much more important to our communities and to the environment that a car be small and slow rather than use less gasoline. Large fast cars contribute to a transportation infrastructure that is inhospitable to the rest of us not driving a car. My friends take some pride in their mpg, but their lower mpg doesn’t make me feel any safer biking. Also mpg-pride seems misplaced if someone is using their large four-seat hybrid car for personal transportation. I’m not against technology, but I believe in appropriate use of technology. I only use our car by myself when I have something heavy to carry or when I have to go beyond the range of my bike. Otherwise I drive my bike.